1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a color electrophotographic image forming apparatus in which a plurality of cartridges are detachably mounted to an apparatus main body to form an image on a recording medium.
Here, a color electrophotographic image forming apparatus forms a color image on a recording medium using an electrophotographic image forming process, and examples of the color electrophotographic image forming apparatus include a color electrophotographic copying machine, a color electrophotographic printer (for example, a color laser beam printer and a color LED printer), a color facsimile machine, and a color word processor.
The recording medium is one on which an image is formed by the electrophotographic image forming apparatus. Examples of the recording medium include paper and an OHP sheet.
The cartridge refers, for example, to a process cartridge or a developing cartridge. The cartridge is detachably mounted to the main body of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus to contribute to an image forming process to form an image on the recording medium. Here, the process cartridge is a cartridge into which at least one of a charging means, a developing means, and a cleaning means serving as a process means and an electrophotographic photosensitive drum are integrally incorporated, the cartridge being detachably mountable to the main body of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus. Thus, the process cartridge may be a cartridge into which the developing means serving as the process means and the electrophotographic photosensitive drum are integrally incorporated, the cartridge being detachably mountable to the main body of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus. In addition, the process cartridge may be a cartridge into which the charging means and the developing means or the cleaning means serving as the process means, and the electrophotographic photosensitive drum are integrally incorporated, the cartridge being detachably mountable to the main body. The type of process cartridge which integrally includes an electrophotographic photosensitive drum and a developing means is referred to as a so-called integral type process cartridge. The type of process cartridge which integrally includes an electrophotographic photosensitive drum and a process means other than the developing means is referred to as a so-called separation type process cartridge.
Here, the process cartridge allows mounting to and detaching from the image forming apparatus main body by the user himself. Thus, the maintenance of the apparatus main body may be easily conducted. The process means acts on the electrophotographic photosensitive drum.
The developing cartridge refers to one which includes a developing roller, contains a developer (toner) used to develop an electrostatic latent image formed on the electrophotographic photosensitive drum by the developing roller, and is detachably mountable to the main body. In the case of the above-mentioned developing cartridge, the electrophotographic photosensitive drum is attached to the apparatus main body or a cartridge supporting member described below. Alternatively, the electrophotographic photosensitive drum is provided in the so-called separation type process cartridge (In this case, the process cartridge has no developing means). The developing cartridge also allows mounting to and detaching from the image forming apparatus main body by the user himself. Thus, the maintenance of the apparatus main body may be easily conducted.
The cartridge may be a so-called integral type or a so-called separation type process cartridge. Further, the cartridge may be formed as one in which a so-called separation type process cartridge and the developing cartridge are used as a pair. Further, the cartridge may be one in which the electrophotographic photosensitive drum is fixedly mounted to the apparatus main body or the cartridge supporting member described below and in which the developing cartridge is detachably used so as to be capable of acting on the electrophotographic photosensitive drum.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the mounting/detaching structure for the process cartridge, there is known one as disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0159781. In this structure, the process cartridge is supported by the cartridge supporting member. Further, the cartridge supporting member slides between an inside position situated on the inner side of the apparatus main body and an outside position situated on the outer side of the apparatus main body. With the cartridge supporting member drawn out from the inside position to the outside position by the user, the process cartridge is mounted to and detached from the cartridge supporting member. Further, the user pushes in the cartridge supporting member to the inside position, whereby the process cartridge is mounted to an image forming position.
In the conventional art example described above, it is possible to achieve an improvement in terms of mounting/detaching operability of the process cartridge with respect to the apparatus main body.